CW green lights US version of leading telenovela

CW has green lit the US version of the Venezuelan series Jane the Virgin, which is set to premiere on the network in autumn.

Electus International, the global distribution arm of Electus, will handle the international format sales.

Adapted from a Venezuelan telenovela, Jane the Virgin chronicles the story of a Hispanic-American aspiring writer who is accidentally artificially inseminated and subsequently struggles to navigate her relationships with the biological father, her boyfriend and her religious mother.

"I am thrilled to be working with Jennie Urman, CBS Studios, and CW to bring Jane the Virgin to the US. It is clear that we are living in the moment of, not only the telenovela, but also all Latin television," said Ben Silverman, founder and chairman of Electus. "The success of Ugly Betty proved that telenovelas can attract audiences all over the world. I knew the instant that RCTV and Aquarius TV brought Jane to us that we had a potentially enormous hit on our hands. This is a character we will all fall in love with and a family of women everyone in the world will recognise and one that I am proud to bring to the US television audience."

The show is created by Emily Owens, MD writer Jennie Snyder Urman, and executive-produced by Electus' Ben Silverman, Gary Pearl and Jorge Granier.